Morgan Rielly has been a stalwart for the Toronto Maple Leafs for more than a decade, but despite still being an important figure on the team, now is the time for the defenceman to accept a trade.
Rielly is currently the longest-tenured player on the Leafs roster, having been selected fifth overall in the 2012 NHL Draft before making his debut with the team in October 2013. Following that 5-4 shootout victory, the Leafs have never looked back, and Rielly has been a cornerstone player.
At the time of writing, he has made 944 regular season appearances for the Leafs and has been an important offensive contributor along the blueline, with 548 total points (97 goals, 451 assists), eclipsing Tomáš Kaberle for the team’s second-most assists by a defenceman.
Rielly has had plenty of positives in his career in Toronto, highlighted by his 72-point (20 goals, 52 assists) season in 2018-19, where he finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting, as well as his 10-year stretch as an alternate captain for the team. Many believe he deserved the ‘C’ ahead of Auston Matthews in 2024.
Despite his lengthy spell with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the fact that he is still a firm fan favourite, there are plenty of reasons why it might be time for him to allow the team to explore trade options once the 2025-26 season draws to a close.
The positives of Morgan Rielly
The Toronto Maple Leafs could enter the 2026-27 season with Morgan Rielly atop their blueline depth chart, and very few people would bat an eyelid. Rielly is a long-time leader on the team, popular amongst the fanbase, and he still puts up decent numbers.
He is firmly an offensive defenceman, and that is where he flourishes. When the Leafs offence is firing on all cylinders, Rielly is often involved heavily, evidenced by his 58 points in the 2023-24 season. In 71 games so far, Rielly has 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) and is currently on pace to reach around 37 points by season’s end.
In a full 82-game season, Rielly likely would hit the 40-point mark, which he has done or exceeded in the previous four seasons, proving that he is still a valuable offensive playmaker for his team. At 32 years old, Rielly is still young enough to be an effective player on any team’s top two pairings for many more years, and if the Leafs begin next season with him on the roster, this is why it would not be much of a surprise.
However, it could also be a reason why now is the time to discuss a respectful, mutual parting of ways.
Why now is the right time for a trade
Rielly may not have produced as well this year relative to recent seasons, but the same can be said for the entire Toronto Maple Leafs roster. The Leafs are not the high-scoring team they were even a season ago, and the team looks set to undergo a much-needed makeover this offseason.
When considering this, the Leafs need to cash in on players that still hold good value on the open market. Rielly is certainly one of those players.
A contending team looking to add more offence, especially from defencemen, should jump at the chance to add Rielly to their team. He has been a consistent points producer throughout his career, moving the puck well and providing important playmaking skills both at even strength and on the power play.
A team such as the Edmonton Oilers could use a player like Morgan Rielly, who could provide a seamless bridge between the blueline and the team’s top forwards, including superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Assuming his contract is not a barrier to negotiations.
Rielly has four more years on his $7.5 million AAV deal, taking him up to 2030, where he will be 36 years old and firmly heading towards the twilight of his career, and the Toronto Maple Leafs may not be able to provide him with the best avenue to winning a Stanley Cup in the team’s current state.
If the Leafs were willing to retain, a genuine contending team like the Oilers may be willing to take him on with the view to making consistent runs at winning the ultimate prize. If the Leafs are looking at making serious changes this offseason, as eluded to by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Rielly may be willing to help the team acquire draft capital while also putting himself in a position to win a cup.
Toronto could fetch a decent return, perhaps a couple of picks this year or next, and use them to restock a fairly bare prospect pool, heading towards a new era where the team is once again built around homegrown players rather than ambitious trades that don’t pan out.
It would offload the team’s fourth-largest contract, with Rielly only sitting behind Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies, which would allow the team to build a new identity on defence, with youngsters such as Ben Danford developing in the system.
Physicality is something the Toronto Maple Leafs could use more of, and Rielly has moved in the opposite direction in this regard. Via Hockey Reference, Rielly has combined for 50 hits over the past two seasons. This is almost half his total from the 2023-24 season (98), and it currently ranks as the second-lowest season for him in this category, with the next-lowest being his 38-hit 2019-20 season, when he only played 47 games.
When the Leafs aren’t able to outshoot and outscore opponents, Rielly’s defensive weaknesses are far more noticeable, and his -23 rating over the past two seasons is a concern. Toronto needs to make changes on the blueline, and moving on from Rielly may be one of many that the team needs to do in order to create a better-balanced team that can get back to the top of the Atlantic Division once again.
Barriers to a Morgan Rielly trade
With Rielly holding a full No-Move Clause for two more years, he is in full control of his future outside of a buyout. He can dictate whether or not he would even entertain a trade, and he can simply tell the Toronto Maple Leafs if there are any teams he would consider should that possibility be raised.
This could severely limit the Leafs’ options on the market and make it difficult for the team to get a return that makes a move worth it outside of cap savings and flexibility. If Rielly will only consider a handful of teams, it would effectively signal to those teams that they have the bargaining power and, once again, the Leafs will have to suffer to make a move.
On the flip side, there’s no guarantee that there will be a market for Rielly, at least depending on the teams he would be happy to be traded to. His contract might be too much, with some highlighting the fact that Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who earns $3 million less than Rielly, currently leads Leafs defencemen in points this year with 36 (eight goals, 28 assists).
If the Leafs can get similar production from a player earning quite a chunk less than Rielly, then so could other teams around the league.
If, however, the Toronto Maple Leafs can find a team that wants Rielly, that Rielly would be happy being traded to, and can receive a decent return for, then this needs to be explored once the season ends. The future of the team looks fairly bleak right now, but parting with a significant part of their immediate past could have a positive impact in changing that and helping the team start to work towards a brighter future.
